Beach Soccer Championships

Championships Return to Oceanside for Eighth Exciting Season

Beach Soccer has journeyed from the beaches of Brazil to the hearts of millions of fans all over the globe. San Diego is America’s 8th largest city and with a glorious coastline, what better way to celebrate Spring than Beach Soccer? Marc Koehler and Gino Rossi are the directors of the The Southern California Beach Soccer Championships, a huge soccer tournament for youth soccer players as well as adults held every spring at the Oceanside Harbor. With 30,000 people expected, this year’s Oceanside Beach Soccer Championship celebration should be the best ever.

What could be more iconic for Southern California than sun, sand and the surf? Throw in soccer, and what do you have? The eighth annual Beach Soccer Championships at Oceanside Harbor. This year the event will be bigger than ever, with an estimated 300+ teams expected to compete for hardware (those are medals and trophies in soccer player lingo) at youth, adult and professional levels. The tournament runs May 16-18, with a special pre-tournament friendlies session for registered teams set for Saturday, May 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the beautiful beaches of Oceanside.

Marc Koehler, Managing Director and Gino Rossi, Director of the Beach Soccer Championships are the driving force behind The Beach Soccer Championships and its parent company, LifeThruSports, a company focused on “bringing the fun back to youth sports.”

“In 2006, I was doing graduate work at UCSD and had to complete a project,” Koehler shared, “so I chose to delve into why 1.2 million kids quit playing soccer in the United States every year by the age of twelve.” Koehler is a management consultant and these annual “customer” losses shocked him. “If any other company lost 1.2 million customers every year, it would go under. U.S. Soccer has the benefit of 1.2 million new customers coming in at the younger age group every year.”

Looking deeper into the numbers revealed that the #1 reason why kids quit was they weren’t having fun anymore. The two biggest groups making it not fun were coaches and parents. Rossi said “At the age of 12, the kids finally stand up and say, ‘I am done being yelled at by coach and my parents.’”

At this same time, Rossi and Koehler were new to youth soccer with their young children playing, and they both decided to become competitive coaches at the Oceanside Breakers. Rossi, who is from Peru, said, “I have played soccer my entire life and understand all aspects of the game, but I never felt so lost on the field standing in front of a bunch of 7 year olds with their new cleats, ball, and shin guards that are too big.”

They coached under the direction of the iconic symbol of soccer in Oceanside, Director of Coaching Frank Zimmerman. “These guys were eager to learn,” said Zimmerman, “so they immersed themselves in trying to become better coaches and teachers by taking coaching classes, including the week-long National Youth Coaching class.”

“That was eye opening for me,” says Koehler who also speaks professionally to small business owners about leadership and running a company with purpose. “In my talks, I encourage business owners who want to test their leadership and communication skills to coach a sport they know a lot about to the youngest of kids while managing their overzealous parents who are mostly focused on winning.”

Seeing that he was more of a teacher than a soccer coach, Rossi was inspired by a quote he heard at one of the U.S. Soccer classes – Education is 90% Encouragement. “Yet, I was seeing coaches and parents yelling at young children from the sideline.”

Rossi and Koehler came together, along with guidance from Zimmerman, and started LifeThruSports to help give coaches and parents the tools they need to bring a better overall youth sporting experience. Looking to raise money, they decided to run a grass tournament. “We looked around and saw that there were five grass tournaments a team can go to every weekend in Southern California. So we asked ourselves how we could produce a different experience.”

They looked at indoor, Futsal, 7v7, and beach soccer. They researched this for an entire year and visited events across the U.S. It was immediately obvious that beach soccer was what they would do.

“The joy on the kids’ faces of being at the beach while playing their favorite sport in their bare feet was what sold us” says Koehler. Additionally, he saw the kids being able to play with less input and criticism from the sideline. “When the perfectly-executed pass between two players hits a piece of sand and goes the wrong direction, or when a goalie dives correctly to stop a shot on the ground and it hits a piece of sand and skips into the goal, no one can say anything. It is beautiful.”

Rossi, who has played forward his entire life, quickly adds, “With 11 goals a game, almost every kid on the team leaves the weekend hearing the ball hit the back of the net. This never happens during a grass tournament weekend.”

Zimmerman was totally sold on the concept and quickly incorporated beach soccer into the club’s annual curriculum.

“The kids tell us it is their favorite event all year, and when kids are playing soccer we are keeping them active in positive activities and helping them to really love the sport that I love.” Koehler adds that “Besides Zimmerman, that there have been many coaches, directors, and volunteers from the Soccer Club of Oceanside who have been critical to making the event a success. We appreciate everything the club has done.”

When asked another question about the tournament, Rossi smiles and politely corrects, “We are not a soccer tournament, we are a Soccer Festival. A tournament happens inside our Festival.”

And a festival it is. With a nod to the Brazilian roots of Beach Soccer and the upcoming FIFA World Cup, music will fill the air all weekend long. No need to bring snacks, as food vendors, including sponsor Joe’s Crab Shack, will be set up along the sand and by the stadium where, in between their own games, youth players and their parents can watch some of the best beach soccer players in the world fight for a $10,000 purse.

“Kids learn through watching their favorite players and emulating them,” explains Koehler. “It is fun to see the kids later in the day try a bicycle kick in their next game. Even if they don’t connect, they are learning.”

This year’s professional division includes the returning champion from Portugal – CD Nacional. Two additional teams from Japan and Mexico round out the international presence. Representing the United States are Portland BSC (Oregon), LA Beach Soccer (Los Angeles), and Fusion FC (San Diego). Professional games start Friday afternoon, with two matches before the FREE Kids Beach Soccer clinic and one after it. The final is at 1:00 pm on Sunday, and admission to the stadium is FREE.

“The kids clinic is something we ‘stole’ from Virginia Beach,” says Rossi. “The pros who play in the event teach the kids how to play beach soccer and learn the basics they will need to have a successful weekend.”

Additionally, the Army National Guard will help to sponsor the Beach Soccer Championships, as they did with the recent ECNL San Diego. The National Guard has also sponsored a successful series of free soccer clinics around San Diego, including a March session hosted by U.S. Men’s National Team hero Paul Caligiuri and Oceanside Breakers Director of Coaching Frank Zimmerman. National Guard recruiters will be on hand to share information about the educational benefits the Guard provides and to ensure that all participants have a fun weekend.

Accepted Clubs for the 2014 Beach Soccer Championships in Oceanside (as of 4-29-14)

The event not only provides a unique experience for participants and spectators, there has been economic benefit to the City of Oceanside and two youth non-profits. Over $2 million is spent in the City over the weekend and the city in turn provides support services. As for the Oceanside Breakers and The Samoan Youth Choir of Mission San Luis Rey, these two non-profits provide the workforce and earn money for their non-profits.

So a memorable weekend that many coaches use as a team bonding experience has over the years produced $12 million in economic impact to the City of Oceanside and $100,000 for the two non-profits.

A great impact all around indeed.

Did you know?

The first Beach Soccer World Cup was held in Brazil, in 1995, organised by the founders of the standardised rules, Beach Soccer Worldwide, held under the title Beach Soccer World Championship. Eight teams were selected to take part, without going through a qualification process. However Brazil, the hosts, dominated and easily won the cup without losing a game. The tournament was successful and BSWW announced that the competition would take place every year.

Team check in for Oceanside Beach Soccer Championship is on May 16th, 2014 – from Noon to 7.00pm at JOE’S CRAB SHACK 314 Harbor Drive, Oceanside, CA 92054

The Rules of the Game: Beach soccer is a little different – do you know the rules?

• The dimensions of the courts: Two sizes will be in use – 25×35 yard courts for most divisions and 30×40 yards for certain adult divisions.
• Goals: 6′ high by 12′ wide for (U8-U9) and 7.2′ high by 18′ wide for all other age groups. Goals are aluminum construction and anchored to the sand at the baselines.
• Ball: Twelve & younger divisions use a size 4; thirteen & older divisions a size 5; inflation pressure is 7 lbs. The referee shall stop the match and the clock, and replace any ball showing signs of deformity. Dropping the replacement ball at the center of the court restarts the match.
• Team Formation: The game is played by two teams of (5) five players on each team. One of the players on the court for each team shall be the goalkeeper. Both teams must have a minimum of three players on the field to start the match. For teams in the Coed division, a minimum of three (3) female players shall be included on each coed team roster, two (2) of which shall be on the field at all times during the match. If no female is available due to injury, the team must play down a player. For more information, please visit the Beach Soccer Championships website.